Development of a Magnetostrictive Linear Motor for Microrobots Using Fe-Ga (Galfenol) Alloys

This paper presents a unique magnetostrictive linear motor using Fe-Ga (Galfenol) alloys. The actuator is driven by a novel self-propelling mechanism that takes advantage of friction and inertial force. We describe in detail the driving principle and simply analyze it. We also present several experimental results regarding the performance of the fabricated magnetostrictive linear motor and verify the validity of the design of the actuator by these experimental results.